Buddhist-Meditation-Systematic-and-Practical

who was inspired by the Exalted One and immediately
believed in him, and one who did not take the refuges
first, but rather gained knowledge of the teachings, as
many Westerners do. The Enlightened One declared that
he preferred the latter type. This is one extremely
important characteristic of the Buddhist religion,
distinguishing it from others. In Buddhism, one is
encouraged to question, to gain knowledge, and to
develop intelligence, a striking contrast with some other
religions.
Westerners learn many Buddhist teachings from reading
translations of the sacred texts. This is good. I was very
much ashamed to hear Mme. Alexandra David-Neel
preach for the Sutren Buddhist Association. On the
surface, she praised the Chinese, but I think that really
her talk contained the sharpest criticism. She said, "It is
very fortunate that all Chinese believe Buddhism. Even
all the little children and the village people who know
nothing all praise the Buddha. In the West it is different.
There, few people are Buddhists but many of them are
scholars and philosophers who have studied his
teachings."
The only faith that most Chinese have in the Buddha is
to regard him as some spirit or god. They worship the
Buddha just as they worship Guan Gong or any other
deva. Most of them have no idea of the difference
between respecting a god and taking refuge in the
Buddha. In the West it is excellent that before becoming
727